From the moment you decide to build, a natural question is, “when will the project be done?” We will provide a project schedule before breaking ground which will provide a Target Date for completion. Changes made by the Owner, unforeseen circumstances (such as weather delays or concealed conditions) may add time to the overall schedule; however, the schedule will be updated when a delay occurs so that the Owner’s expectations are managed.

A General Contractor is the prime contractor who is responsible for most of the work at the construction site, including that performed by the subcontractors. The General Contractor oversees all work while verifying that it is installed as detailed on the drawings, defined by the building codes, and is within industry standards.

Budget generally refers to a list or spreadsheet of all planned expenses to complete the construction project. An Owner’s budget will typically include all associated costs of construction including architectural design fees, structural engineering fees, permit fees, (which combined are called “soft costs”) and construction costs. Essentially the budget is a tool that illustrates the trade-offs of monetary decisions during the construction process. A General Contractor’s budget will be similar to the Owner’s budget; however, the GC typically does not track the soft costs of the project.

Simply put, yes, you can make changes along the way. We will provide you with a CPM (Critical Path Method) schedule that will illustrate what decisions need to be made and when. It is critical to the project’s success for you to make decisions ahead of time so as to not delay the schedule. With the use of the CPM schedule, we will assist you in making decisions in a timely manner. For example, if you want custom windows that take 8 weeks to deliver, we will need to order them 10 weeks in advance of installing them in order to ensure that the whole order is received without errors or damages.

Design Build is a construction project delivery system where, in contrast to “design-bid-build”, the design and construction aspects are contracted for with a single entity known as the design-builder. The design-builder is typically the General Contractor, but in some cases it can be the architect or engineer. This system is used to minimize the project risk for an owner by designing the project within a set budget. Oftentimes, an Owner has an Architect design their “dream” without carefully considering how much money they have to spend ahead of time. By hiring a design-builder, you eliminate the opportunity to over-design your project which will allow you to stay within budget.

We typically discourage the Owner from managing parts of the project on their own. The reason you hired a General Contractor in the first place is to manage the project, manage your expectations, and manage the budget. Most often the Owner will pick out materials and products; however, procurement and installation of these items should be left to the professionals. The benefits of having your General Contractor oversee all work are plentiful: warranty guarantees, contractor discounts in pricing, and most importantly scheduling. If you have a 9-5 job, the subcontractor is not going to want to meet you at the jobsite at 6 o’clock at night or on weekends. See our Case Study link for more on this subject.

A sustainable building, or green building, is an outcome of designs that focus on increasing the efficiency of resource use (such as energy, water, and materials) while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment. Efficiency is evaluated throughout the building’s lifecycle, from the initial design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal. Effective green building can lead to 1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2) improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3) reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment, although the appearance and style of sustainable buildings is not necessarily distinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.